Bower, Van Ostenbridge running for District 3. Which West Bradenton native will win?
An election to determine who represents District 3 on the Manatee County Commission may come down to who developers support and who they don’t.
Matt Bower, a financial advisor and seven-year Army veteran, launched his campaign in April with a promise not to accept a penny from any local developers. Kevin Van Ostenbridge, a local realtor and business owner, has raised nearly $110,000, which includes overwhelming support from big names like Pat Neal, Carlos Beruff and other homebuilders.
But Van Ostenbridge’s support also comes from everyday residents, he said in an interview with the Bradenton Herald.
“I’m approaching 250 contributions overall, which includes nurses, teacher, local small businesses and retired citizens,” Van Ostenbridge said. “I’m honored that so many friends and neighbors are supporting my campaign.”
As soon as he announced his campaign in January, Van Ostenbridge, the Republican nominee, earned the support of incumbent District 3 County Commissioner Stephen Jonsson, who represents West Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and Cortez. Jonsson did not run for re-election to a second term.
Bower, who ran an unsuccessful campaign against Jonsson in 2016, said those donations will influence votes, arguing that a Van Ostenbridge victory means developers would earn a “yes man” on the Board of County Commissioners.
“My opponent’s voting record shows he’s going to just vote yes on whatever comes before the board,” Bower claimed, referring to Van Ostenbridge’s time on the city of Bradenton’s Planning Commission.
“I mostly voted on small infill projects that helped to revitalize blighted areas in our urban core,” Van Ostenbridge said, responding to Bower’s comments. “Matt Bower, on the other hand, served on the Manatee County Planning Commission and approved thousands of new homes that have added to our growing pains, including traffic congestion.”
Van Ostenbridge says his campaign priorities include replacing the county’s aging infrastructure, improving local water quality and revitalizing the local economy, a focus inspired by the economic impact as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now that we’re coming out of an economic downturn, putting our residents back to work is my main focus on day one,” Van Ostenbridge said.
Bower’s platform is similar, he explained in an interview. He’s also pushing for traffic, infrastructure and water quality improvements, citing the current board’s refusal to adequately address those issues. Bower is running without party affiliation.
“One of the easiest things we can do on water quality is tackle our sewer issues and sewer spills,” Bower said. “Some are nature-related with outdated systems that can’t handle the rain, but there’s a lot of issues related to construction scenarios where people out there are accidentally breaking pipes because they don’t know where the pipes are.”
“I’m running to effect change on the board and be a voice of the people,” he added. “That’s my No. 1 priority.”
Bower switched to no party affiliation after a write-in candidate, Nathan Meyer, entered the race. Meyer dropped out of the race shortly after the primary election, but Bower believes Van Ostenbridge and developers pushed for a write-in candidate to close off the vote in the primary to only Republicans, which “disenfranchises thousands of voters.”
“Developers and my opponent tried to use the write-in loophole to disenfranchise voters,” Bower said. “As a veteran and just who I am, I just can’t support that. I don’t believe in that, so at the last minute, I decided to change so that we could allow everyone to vote in November.”
“I believe in closed primaries,” Van Ostenbridge said.
When it comes to improving infrastructure, Van Ostenbridge says he’d rather focus on replacing old pipes and expanding road capacity in the congested parts of major corridors like Cortez Road and Manatee Avenue.
“We definitely need efficiency improvements. We also need new bridges to Anna Maria Island,” Van Ostenbridge suggested.
Bower’s big idea to reduce traffic is to create dedicated travel lanes for public transit “that will entice people to use transit and get out of their own vehicles.”
Despite raising just over $10,000, Bower says he’s confident he can win the seat in November.
“I will be the voice of the people. I simply don’t quit. I look forward to being that person on the board. I’ll be the only board member without any strings attached to him,” Bower said. “I honestly think we’re going to overcome it and win. People understand where money comes from now. They’re doing the homework and saying no special interests.”
If elected, Van Ostenbridge says he looks forward to focusing on issues that affect the West Bradenton area.
“I am a lifelong resident of District 3 and I’m a local business owner. I’m focused on issues that are specific to West Bradenton — economic recovery, traffic congestion and water quality,” he said.
Election Day is Nov. 3. To learn more about Van Ostenbridge’ campaign, visit www.VoteKVO.com. To learn more about Bower’s campaign, visit www.VoteForMattBower.com.
